Cinquantamila.it La storia raccontata da Giorgio Dell'Arti

Note su Bernard von Bülow e la Maria figlia di Laura Minghetti. 8 aprile 1885, probabilmente da Pietroburgo dove Bülow era consigliere d’ambasciata. Descritto come place-seekers. «Bülow non guarda mai nessuno negli occhi e se lo fa il fait un effort sur lui-meme». Descrive poi i figli di Bülow (il più giovane chiacchierone, spifferava tutto quello che sapeva a von Arnim, col quale andava a bere tutte le sere, questo nel 1875 a Parigi). Quanto a Bernard: «is clean-shaven and pasty, with a shifty look and an almost perpetual smile. Intellectually plausible rather than penetrating. Has no ideas in reserve with which to meet all contingencies, but appropriates other people’s ideas and skillfulli retailòs them without acknowledging the source. In this way he often flatters the originator of the idea. Bülow has wormed his way into Herbert’s favor, whom behind his bacj and perhaps even to his face he compare to Achilles. When Bülow wants to set one man against another, he says with his insinuating smile: «He doesn’t like you». A simple and almost infallible method». Riuscì a diventare sottosegretario di stato sotto Herbert. Su Maria: «Incidentally, once in his life Bülow met a more skilful intriguer than himself. This was little countess Dönhoff-Camporeale, who after a marriage lasting sixteen years, of which there are two or three children, divorced her husband about a year ago [divorced from count Karl Dönhoff on 31 marzo 1883] in order to marry Bülow. The eldest daughter is about sixteen. Amongst her mother’s earlier love-affairs the one with the painter Lenbach caused an unusual amount of talk. Just over a year ago another divorcée, with whom Lenbach had carried on an affair for years, took her own life, and in the farewell letter she wrote to Lenbach she mentioned ’his Countess-this very Dönhoff, who has been living in Rome since her divorce [...] Bülow is certain tht the little Countess has never given a thought to any one but him. If Bülow goes through with this marriage it will be a help rather than a hindrance to him in his carrer under the future Kaiser; the little Countess is very much a protégée of the Crown Princess. Indeed the Crown Princess would welcome anything that might cause offense in Berlin society».

THE HOLSTEIN PAPERS